Kazuyoshi Kimura

My understanding of "governance" is that it is a corporate governance that focuses on the sustainable growth (economic value) of the company over the long-term as its main objective, not simply seeking to maximize short-term profits.  This goal requires a Board of Director to focus on earning the  trust and confidence  of its shareholders, customers, employees and community by understanding the changes and challenges of the times, and focusing efforts towards improving corporate value through sustainable growth. Specifically, companies can only grow by innovatively pursuing products and services and product innovations that are trusted and needed by society. One of the greatest drivers for sustainable growth is "employee engagement," and continual focus and improvement in this area is critical to the sustainable growth of any company.  

From my long experience as a senior executive and independent director of a number of major Japanese companies I firmly believe that creating a system that that engages and motivates employees, through investment in the "people" who are responsible for research and development, capital investment, and business development, is the crux of best practice corporate governance.

I have accepted my nomination to the Fujitec board because I am deeply concerned about the absence of these standards being met by the current Board, so soon after their taking control just a few months ago.  It has become clear to me, as an outside observer, that governance has been sacrificed in favor of short-term management strategy, while, the essential strategies for sustainable growth seem to have fallen away, with only the intentions of certain minority shareholders being followed,.   I am also concerned about the poor level of engagement with customers of the elevator business, which requires long-term relationships and trust. In order to commit to sustainable growth by prioritizing the engagement of employees and customers, I believe it is important to aim for a board of directors that emphasizes open, fair, and free discussions, as well as timely and fair disclosure to the market and dialogue with shareholders.

My thoughts on governance are not based on a commentator or consultant's perspective, but rather on the practical experience of being held accountable for results as an external director for multiple listed companies for many years.  From my experience I have always been conscious of being a constructive partner and supporter of internal directors and executive officers, rather than taking a hierarchical or adversarial approach. However, in this era of rapid disruption across all industries, flexibility to adapt to changing environment is also critical.   In this area I believe my leadership experience in other sectors undergoing rapid evolution, such as financial services and consumer electronics, will complement the Fujitec Board and positively contribute to its skills matrix.

Seeing the performance of Fujitec that has consistently outperformed its peers, I hope that the board of directors will be able to meet the expectations of stakeholders by creating a structure that continues to uphold the sincere corporate culture based on the founding principles of valuing "people, technology, and products" and adhering to the concept of "benefit for all." Furthermore, I believe that it is important to go beyond past precedents and common sense, consider market evaluation as fair value, and continuously challenge the enhancement of corporate value recognized in the market. I sincerely hope to contribute to the establishment of a board of directors that takes responsibility to meet the expectations of stakeholders, through open, fair, and free discussions, timely and fair disclosure, and dialogue with shareholders."